To sum up my photography experience during this festival, it was: cloudy. Personally, I have a very difficult time photographing balloon festivals when it's cloudy. Good light is obscured, the sky gets blown out way too easily, and the balloon colors are dulled. In scenarios like this, it's always good to have a backup plan. For me, while it wasn't a photography related plan, I planned on crewing for "Vacation" piloted by Janet who I had previously met at the Elephant Butte Balloon Regatta. Had it not been me being occupied with crewing, I think my overall experience would have been poor since I wasn't getting the photos I wanted.